[closed] Renewal Log for lolpenis

[shadowofthefirst]

In the days...weeks...months...years...Tenzou spent trapped underground being little more than a chakra battery to fuel the White Zetsu Army, he'd had a lot of time to think on his life and the path he had chosen. Kabuto's experiments had been horrific in their own right but the almost casual way the White Zetsu mentioned that he'd been abandoned by his comrades had done the most damage to Yamato's resolve.

It was impossible to keep track of time in the darkness of the underground lair so Tenzou had no idea how long he'd truly spent as a prisoner and maybe that was for the best. He'd resolved himself to death but when he'd felt Tobi's hold on him fade away, the utterly exhausted jounin had made his way to the surface somehow. If asked, Yamato would freely admit he'd thought he was a dead man walking considering the advanced state of his chakra exhaustion. He simply hadn't wanted to die underground in the darkness and closed confines of that damned statue which reminded him too much of the horrible days he'd spent trapped in a glass tube watching his fellow experiments die one by one.

If he was going to die, Tenzou had wanted to see the sun one last time, to feel the wind tease his hair. But once he'd reached the surface he'd gotten caught in that damned genjutsu along with everyone else. Thankfully, Naruto and Sasuke had managed to break it and as soon as he'd been freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi and he'd gotten to witness the final death of Tobi, the exhausted jounin had fallen flat on his face into a coma. Only the speedy intervention of a nearby Kumo med-nin had kept Tenzou's badly drained body alive long enough to get him to the makeshift triage hospital. And from there, they had transferred him along with the other critically wounded back to Konoha where Tsunade and her medical team could work on them.

The great Sannin med-nin had taken on look at him and thrown her hands up in disgust. Tsunade had griped at him about picking up terrible habits from his senpai Kakashi when it came to blowing out his chakra pathways and over-extending himself. Tenzou had tried to weakly defend himself considering he'd been a prisoner but truthfully, the teasing had helped give him some sense of normalcy which he'd desperately needed.

Tenzou was quieter after his ordeal, more withdrawn and prone to living in his own head but the med-nin had simply written it off as a side-effect of being held as a prisoner of war for as long as he had been. Still, he'd attempted to cultivate a more cheerful facade when his former team members stopped by. Naruto had been his usual over-exuberant self and Sakura had been by dozens of times when her duties permitted her the time to simply duck in to see if her former captain needed anything. Yamato was relieved they'd survived and though he had his own private doubts when it came to Sasuke Uchiha, he didn't have it in him to tarnish their relief to have their friend back again.

Even Kakashi had stopped by once which he considered nothing short of miraculous. The former Copy Ninja had been just as subdued as Tenzou, that single visible eye shadowed and haunted by everything he'd seen and done in the war. Finding out Obito had been still alive, that he'd been the impetus behind so much of the pain and sorrow Konoha had gone through in the past couple of decades had been hard on the jounin and Tenzou could see it in Kakashi's eye. Unfortunately, he was in no shape to try and help his senpai and they'd just sort of awkwardly sat there trying to come up with something to talk about.

Finally, Kakashi had ducked out claiming he had soon-to-be-Hokage business he needed to see to but not before he'd slapped a couple of those garishly colored pornographic books he adored so much on Yamato's bedside table supposedly to 'keep him entertained' as he was laid up in the hospital recovering.

The dark-haired jounin had turned a rather unflattering shade of red and desperately tried to convince his tired and aching body to move enough so he could reach for the books and toss them in the trash or into the nightstand...anywhere out of sight before one of the nurses came wandering back in and started to get the wrong impression about him! Of course, for a shinobi who'd once been able to complete the most effortless of physical feats, it was goading that the simple act of sitting up and reaching over three feet to reach for the books left him panting and winded. He'd never felt this weak before and it both embarrassing and terrifying to Tenzou to know just how vulnerable he was right now. Sure, he was in his home village surrounded by highly trained ninja but paranoia went hand in hand with the ninja trade and he didn't like knowing he'd be pretty much useless in a fight if an enemy crawled into the window when no one was looking. They hadn't even left him a weapons pouch for crying out loud.

If Kakashi had wanted to be helpful, he'd have brought him some kunai, not porn to read!

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[lolpenis]

There was an overwhelming sense of trying to settle into normalcy. The whole city was reconstructing, people coming home, people dealing with the loss of those who wouldn't come home. In a way it wasn't entirely different from being in war. Destruction and creation didn't feel all that different to Sai.

There had been much to take care of with everything that had happened, and then, suddenly, Sai found himself with a large amount of truly free time on his hands.

It wasn't something Sai was use to.

Sakura has been the one to suggest he visit Captain Yamato. As soon as she said it, it seemed so obvious that he felt strange having not even considered it himself. You always visited sick companions. It was the right thing to do, as a good friend.

And he had missed Captain Yamato, had worried about him.

He entered the room quietly, slipping to sit besides the bed.

"Hello."

[shadowofthefirst]

Yamato didn't even know what all was going on in the village outside that was partly why his current infirmity was driving him insane with boredom and guilt. After Pain's attack on the city, Yamato had nearly driven himself into the ground and exhausted his chakra stores to such a degree that he'd very nearly landed himself in the hospital just like this. But he'd been useful and the work he'd been doing had been necessary.

Now, people were struggling to rebuild and get on with their lives and here he was stranded in a hospital with far too many tubes sticking in and out of him and not even enough fortitude to manage to lever himself up into a sitting position or perform the most basic of tastes. At least he'd managed to mostly shove the eyesore of the pornographic novels in the drawer built into the stand next to his bed by the time Sai sneaked in. Judging by the way the older ANBU soldier was flushed, sweating and panting, he'd obviously been exerting himself too much.

Though why something as simple as sitting up would be considered exerting himself was beyond him. They'd taken away his forehead protector and uniform, leaving the older man with only a pair of plain black clothes. Without the face guard and the bulk of his uniform, Yamato looked younger and more vulnerable. It was easy to forget the other man was only in his mid-twenties when he was out in the field. Of course, he'd been a ninja for over two decades, most of which included serving in some of the blackest, most dark units in the village's history. Now he just looked like a tired and worn out civilian instead of the finely honed blade he was supposed to be.

"Sai? It's uh...good to see you." He had to take a breath there in the middle of that sentence to try and create words. Yamato was feeling somewhat light-headed now, if he were being honest with himself so he started to reevaluate his decision to sit up. Maybe the nurses had a point in making him lay down? Maybe he should regain his horizontal position right now before he passed out? Groaning quietly, the drained jounin decided to listen to his better judgement and sank back into the bed gratefully.

[lolpenis]

Stepping up to the bedside, he reached into the bad at his hip and began to pull out objects.

A stuffed cat. A handful of paper backs, though hopefully to Yamato's relief there was none of the pervy sage's porn to be seen. Though the covers didn't promise anything much more appropriate to his interest. Then came some snacks, a deck of cards, a book of cross words puzzles, and last, he set a small, neat banzai on the now almost overflowing small night stand.

"I didn't know if the banzai was redundant." He said flatly, before pointing to the small figure next to the tree. "But the jade is good luck."

Everything had, clearly, come from the hospital gift shop.

[shadowofthefirst]

Yamato watched in open bemusement as Sai started to pull the oddest assortment of small gifts from his bag. The way his eyes widened ever so slightly at the stuffed cat was almost comical and the ANBU ninja found himself biting back a chuckle because of course Sai would know what mask he wore.

Of course, he'd never received a stuffed animal which might have been a little strange but when you considered he'd spent his first six years or so as a lab experiment and the next six under the thumb of a man like Danzou...well maybe it wasn't so surprising. Thoroughly charmed and a little overwhelmed by the amount of gifts the younger man had brought him by the time Sai finished unpacking his bag, Yamato found himself smiling with genuine warmth at the other agent.

"I don't know if it's redundant or not but the spirit of the gift is greatly appreciated, Sai. They've expressively forbidden me from trying any "funny business" as the doctors called it but I've missed being surrounded by greenery." Which was a bit of an understatement considering the amount of time he'd spent trapped underground by the likes of Zetsu. Yamato had longed for trees and the blue sky like a man trapped in the desert longed for a simple sip of water. He'd been starved in more than one way so even that small bit of greenery cheered him up immensely.

"Thank you, Sai. It's really, all very lovely." If it had been anyone but Sai, he might have made a teasing remark about buying out the hospital gift shop but Tenzou was all too aware of the fact that Sai's grasp on humor was shaky at best and the last thing he wanted was to offend him or hurt his feelings after he'd made such a kind gesture.

[lolpenis]

Sai was obviously pleased he had done well. He could sense a small hesitation in the other man, and was sure there was a 'but' somewhere in the success, there usually was. However, each but was getting smaller in it's scale, and underlying his intent less and less. A small success.

Life was becoming a series of small success. It was a strange feeling, and one he was not entirely sure about yet.

He noted Yamato's reply, making mental reminder to bring more plants next time. That was certainly something he could do.

"I'm glad you enjoy it." He said carefully, settling down next to the bed. "I didn't want to patronize you with any gifts that were too childish but I also...wanted something..." He wasn't sure of the right word. "Soft."

[shadowofthefirst]

Yamato smiled over at him with genuine warmth in those dark, almond shaped eyes. Sitting there in that narrow hospital bed in little more than a pair of standard issue blacks, the other ANBU member looked younger and more vulnerable without his customary headgear and uniform. He also looked tired and a little wan but that could be chalked up to the extended captivity and drain on his chakra reserves by Zetsu.

The doctors had warned him that it would be weeks before he was capable of returning to duty and that he'd been unbelievably lucky to survive at all. Only Hashirama's cells and the healing aspect of his borrowed powers had kept him from being drained to a dried out husk. Anyone else would have been dead within a matter of days but for Tenzou, it had been weeks...months. But it felt like years.

"You didn't patronize me, Sai. Sure, it's a little unusual but truthfully, I don't think anyone has ever gotten me a stuffed animal before so there's a bit of novelty to the whole situation I find charming." And to demonstrate he didn't mind the stuffed cat at all, he even reached over to the nightstand with an arm that trembled almost imperceptibly under the drag of it's own weight and picked up the stuffed cat and carried it back over to the bed so he could plop it on his chest.

"Of course, when Kakashi-senpai sees it, he's probably going to laugh his head off." He'd been teasing him for years about needing to change his mask but Tenzou had stubbornly refused. He was attached to the cat and it had been his identity for almost twenty years. Perhaps it was time for a change though if even Sai could guess his identity. Not that it was so surprising Sai would know his identity. After all, he was ANBU as well, albeit from ROOT rather than the main branch Yamato had been serving in for over a decade.

[lolpenis]

Sai smiled, satisfied with the answer he had received from the other. Now that the gifts had been accepted, and gone over fairly well, he felt like he could relax more. The first step had gone smooth, and after that, each additional one seemed to fall into place a bit easier.

He took a good, long look at the man in the bed across from him. Took in the strain in his face, the slight shiver in his body.

"How long do they expect you to be in here." He asked, voice soft, but neither gentle nor pitying. Just curious. He had had a few long hospital stays of his own, although Yamato's had already extended his longest by some time.

[shadowofthefirst]

The smile on the older ninja's face grew a little thin and strained around the edges when Sai asked him the question that had been haunting him since he'd woken up in the hospital.

"Hopefully not much longer, Tsunade-sama said they needed to bring my chakra levels up at a more gradual rate than usual or they'd risk overloading the pathways. Apparently whatever that Zetsu did damaged them somewhat. So slow and steady wins the race. Or so they tell me."

What he didn't mention was the horrific warning Tsunade had given him about what would happen if he overwhelmed those already weakened and damaged chakra pathways. She'd told him there was a risk he could damage them permanently and then he might never be able to mold chakra again. That would be not just a career ending blow but for a man like Tenzou who literally didn't know how to be anything but a ninja...it would ruin his entire life. If he wasn't a shinobi, what was he?

His own personal sense of identity was shaky at best most days but take that away from him and he'd have nothing.

[lolpenis]

"What happens when you get out?"

His knack for zeroing in on what the person probably wants to least consider is clearly still strong. Without a thought, he reaches out to touch pale fingers to Yamato's forearm, running over the blood vessels that lifted against the surface there, and the chakra that skimmed along those pathways, it's own energy current.

He looked up at Yamato, dark eyes still holding the question, clearly concerned what would be happening to the other man.

[shadowofthefirst]

"Hopefully I'll be cleared to go back to work. Which is probably why they're not going to release me till they know I can cope unfortunately. But thanks to Kakashi-senpai I think most of the medics around here are used to dealing with crazy ANBU shenanigans and trying to bust out of the hospital before receiving medical clearance."

Yamato tried to make a joke of it but Sai's rather uncomfortably bald question had his own doubts simmering under the surface. He couldn't fault the younger ANBU agent for his blunt question or the uncanny insight he showed considering that was what they were trained for. The brunette however was not expecting the light caress of the younger ninja's fingertips skimming along his forearm. Every hair on his arm seemed to stand on end as gooseflesh crawled across his skin.

"It'll be fine, I'll be back on duty in no time." He finally said somewhat lamely.